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Published on: August 25, 2021
Expression of nerve growth factor receptor in paraffin-embedded soft tissue tumors
1Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia 19104.
Abstract:
Identification of growth factors and receptors in mesenchymal tumors may be crucial to understanding of growth regulation in sarcomas. During an immunohistochemical study of the expression of growth factors and receptors in human soft tissue tumors (STT), only 1 antisera capable of working in paraffin-embedded tissue was noted. A detailed study of 141 STT was undertaken to determine the frequency of expression of nerve growth factor receptor (NGF-R), its specificity and sensitivity for neural tumors, and the effect of fixation on detection. In normal mesenchymal tissue, only nerve sheath and perivascular staining was seen. No immunoreactivity was seen in many tumors including rhabdomyosarcoma, angiosarcoma, liposarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and alveolar soft part sarcoma. Less than 15% of tumors of smooth muscle, fibrous, or fibrohistiocytic origin showed immunoreactivity, usually focal. In contrast, a high frequency of immunoreactivity was noted in tumors of neural origin (74%). This included granular cell tumors (100%), Schwannoma/neurofibroma (91%), malignant Schwannoma (78%), neuroblastoma/neuroepithelioma (60%), and paraganglioma (57%). A high rate of reactivity was also seen in synovial sarcomas (80%), undifferentiated sarcomas (60%), and hemangiopericytomas (43%), suggesting a potential relationship to the neural phenotype. Among the neural tumors, Bouin's fixation was superior to formalin, suggesting that immunoreactivity for NGF-R is affected by fixation. This antibody may be a useful adjunct marker diagnostically.
Insights
Nerve growth factor receptor (NGF-R) is highly expressed in neural tumors, but not in many other soft tissue tumors. Fixation methods significantly impact NGF-R detection, suggesting its utility as a diagnostic marker.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Pathology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Understanding growth regulation in sarcomas is crucial.
- Growth factors and receptors play a key role in tumor development.
- Immunohistochemistry is a valuable tool for studying protein expression in tumors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the frequency and specificity of nerve growth factor receptor (NGF-R) expression in human soft tissue tumors (STT).
- To investigate the effect of fixation methods on NGF-R detection.
- To evaluate NGF-R as a potential diagnostic marker for STT.
Main Methods:
- Immunohistochemical analysis of 141 STT using an antibody for NGF-R.
- Evaluation of NGF-R expression in normal mesenchymal tissue and various tumor types.
- Comparison of fixation techniques (Bouin's vs. formalin) on NGF-R detection.
Main Results:
- High NGF-R immunoreactivity (74%) was observed in neural tumors, including granular cell tumors (100%) and Schwannoma/neurofibroma (91%).
- Low or no NGF-R expression was found in rhabdomyosarcoma, angiosarcoma, liposarcoma, and Ewing's sarcoma.
- Synovial sarcomas (80%) and undifferentiated sarcomas (60%) also showed high reactivity, suggesting a neural phenotype link.
- Bouin's fixation yielded superior results compared to formalin for NGF-R detection.
Conclusions:
- NGF-R is a sensitive and specific marker for neural tumors.
- NGF-R expression patterns may indicate a neural phenotype in certain non-neural sarcomas.
- Fixation method is critical for accurate NGF-R detection.
- NGF-R antibody can serve as a useful adjunct diagnostic marker for soft tissue tumors.
